Brad Schmidt/The OregonianPortland has four rapid response vehicles, but only two are in service.

One of Portland's shiny red rapid response vehicles stopped by City Hall on Friday, prompting commissioners Dan Saltzman and Randy Leonard to look a bit like two kids waking up on a holiday morning to find that new toy they just had to have.

Saltzman began pushing for the rapid response vehicles in 2010, when Leonard asked voters to approve a $72.4 million bond measure for his Fire Bureau.

Saltzman wanted the vehicles -- modeled after a program first launched by Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue -- to respond to medical calls that shouldn't require a full fire truck and numerous hands on deck. Emergency medical service issues represent about 70 percent of fire calls.

"One the benefits will not only be quicker medical response but preserve the wear and tear on the heavier fire engines that are dispatched to these emergency medical calls when often that's kind of overkill," Saltzman said at the time.

On Friday, Fire Chief Erin Janssens dropped by with one of the city's four rapid response vehicles. All four were in service this spring but only two are being used now because of budget constraints. They're at Station 11 in Lents and Station 19 near Montavilla, with 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. shifts.

Each vehicle has a two-person crew, and city fire officials hope to expand service to 24 hours a day, but that will take negotiations with the union.

View full sizeBrad Schmidt/The OregonianCity Commissioners Dan Saltzman and Randy Leonard check out one of the Fire Bureau's rapid response vehicles, parked in front of Portland City Hall.

Leonard and Saltzman gave the vehicle a thorough walk-around on Friday, with Saltzman jumping into the driver's seat and Leonard hopping into the passenger's side.

Janssens said she's driven the SUV, a 2012 GMC Yukon, calling it "nimble."